Source: www.dictionary.com

Crony Capitalism, sometimes called Capital Cronyism.  I guess its your perspective.  You may, from time to time heard this term used in various ways, generally to describe the relationship between a government official and those with financial influence.  In this rant, I will attempt to expand on this and further enlighten you.

At the outset, let me say that people often tend to confuse capital cronyism with Fascism and/or Corporatocracy.  These three terms are not necessarily interchangeable.  Here’s why:

Wikipedia says of Crony Capitalism:

… a term describing an allegedly capitalist economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, and so forth.”

“Crony capitalism is believed to arise when political cronyism spills over into the business world; self-serving friendships and family ties between businessmen and the government influence the economy and society to the extent that it corrupts public-serving economic and political ideals.”

By this definition, then, it is neither Fascism nor is it a Corporatocracy.  Let’s compare.  Wikipedia says Fascism is:

… a radical, authoritarian nationalist political ideology.  Fascists advocate the creation of a totalitarian single-party state that seeks the mass mobilization of a nation through indoctrination, physical education, and family policy including eugenics. Fascists seek to purge forces and ideas deemed to be the cause of decadence and degeneration and produce their nation’s rebirth based on commitment to the national community based on organic unity where individuals are bound together by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood. Fascists believe that a nation requires strong leadership, singular collective identity, and the will and ability to commit violence and wage war in order to keep the nation strong. Fascist governments forbid and suppress opposition to the state.”

and Corporatocracy as:

… social theories that focus on conflicts and opposing interests within society, denotes a system of government that serves the interest of, and may be run by, corporations and involves ties between government and business.  Where corporations, conglomerates, and/or government entities with private components, control the direction and governance of a country, including carrying out economic planning notwithstanding the ‘free market’ label.”

So how do we differentiate when it seems that there is a very fine green line between each of these terms?  Well, let’s examine it from a historical perspective, at least insofar as the United States is concerned.

Bare-bones cronyism has been going on since long before the United States came into being.  They didn’t call it that, they called it tribalism.  As man became more civilized, monarchs arranged marriages between their sons and daughters, to gain a familial relationship between their kingdoms, and this made perfect sense.  After all, who would want to wage war against and possibly kill their son-in-law.  Okay, maybe that was a bad example.

We have a great example in our own United States history in the form of our friends called euphemistically, the “Robber Barons.” You know them:  Rockefeller, Gould, Vanderbilt, Astor, and their bankers, Morgan, Mellon, just to name a few of the more familiar names.  There was little or no competition amongst them and they conspired to keep new competitors shut out of whatever industry they happened to be monopolizing at the moment.  For instance, if you didn’t sell your oil to J.D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil, it was too expensive to sell it anywhere else because old J.D. just called up one of his railroad buddies and made it too expensive to ship.  The U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission was created ostensibly to regulate the transportation industry, but a series of schemes that still showed favoritism, off the books, kept the system in place for decades.

General Electric (GE) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jeffrey R. Immelt listens to President Obama during the Obama junket to Mumbai, India on Nov. 6, 2010 photo.

This was the “Good Old Boys Network.”  It may come as no surprise to you that this network is still in place today, albeit with a few “girls,” too.  It works with what is known as “cross directorships.”  If you have ever read the biograpies of any of the directors of a Fortune 500 company, you know what I mean.  In case you haven’t allow me to demonstrate.  I will use General Electric as an example.

Retired U.S. Senator Sam Nunn is listed as an “Independent” Director (meaning that he is not an employee of GE).   Wikipedia says of Nunn:

Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American lawyer and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Nunn served for 24 years as a United States Senator from Georgia (1972 until 1997) as a member of the Democratic Party.  His political experience and credentials on national defense reportedly put him into consideration as a potential running mate for Democratic presidential candidates John Kerry (2004) and Barack Obama (2008). Nunn is an informal advisor [sic] to President Obama.”

“He is a board member of the following publicly held corporations: Chevron Corporation, the Coca-Cola Company, Dell Computer Corporation, General Electric Company.”

And here is a screenshot of his biography on the GE website:

(Click for larger size.)

Sam Nunn's biography from the GE website as of May 29, 2011

What would a person  who is co-chairman of an organization that purports to be dedicated to reducing the threat from nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons be doing serving on the Board of Directors of a company that is in the nuclear power business and is one of the largest defense contractors in the world, you ask?  Well, he is there to look out for GE’s interests in the anti-nuclear, anti-war business, of course.  He is what we commonly call a “shill.”

Guess who the other co-chairman of NTI is?  Why its none other than Ted Turner.  Its right there at the top of the home page for their website where they proudly proclaim:

The Nuclear Threat Initiative is working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. NTI is co-chaired by Sam Nunn and Ted Turner.”

Gee, I think GE built some nuclear bombs and a few nuclear reactors.  Hey Sam and Ted:  What the Fukushima’s goin’ on?

Here’s a little more from the Washington Examiner of July 1, 2010:

Except for maybe Google, no company has been closer and more in synch [sic] with the Obama administration than General Electric.

“First, there’s the policy overlap: Obama wants cap-and-trade, GE wants cap-and-trade. Obama subsidizes embryonic stem-cell research, GE launches an embryonic stem-cell business.  Obama calls for rail subsidies, GE hires Linda Daschle as a rail lobbyist. Obama gives a speeech, GE employee Chris Matthews feels a thrill up his leg. I could go on.

“Then there’s the personal connections: CEO Jeff Immelt sits on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory board and was asked by Obama’s Export-Import Bank to the opening act for the President at the most recent Ex-Im conference.

“Finally, there’s the philosophical similarities. Days after Obama promised in his inauguration to “remak[e] America,” Immelt wrote to shareholders:

‘The interaction between government and business will change forever. In a reset economy, the government will be a regulator; and also an industry policy champion, a financier, and a key partner.’

“And Immelt flashed an envious smile when he said, ‘China pays all the bills.’ ‘What you see in China,’ Immelt added, ‘is an incredible unanimity of purpose from top to bottom.’”

Let me define those globalist code words for you.  “Unanimity of purpose.”  You do what we want to make us money and you do it for next to nothing.  Yeah Good Old Boy Jeffrey would like to see us all in bondage, just like in China!

For all of the whining liberals did for eight years about corporate cronyism in George W. Bush’s White House, they seem to turn a blind eye to the same behavior in Obama.  With plans in place for a major overhaul in the health-care industry, General Electric is posturing itself to become a major beneficiary of these health care reforms.  This is, of course, why GE supported Obama along with its news affiliates MSNBC and NBC, which are still in the tank for Obama.  Did you hear the kumbayas from MSNBC and NBC during the election?

Oh.  And I would be remiss if I did not mention that GE, which last year reported global profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States, claimed a “tax benefit” of $3.2 billion.  Nice spin.  That’s what the New York Times reported on March 24, 2011, “G.E.’s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether”.

So why, then dis they need a bailout?  Again the New York Times reported that they received a $139 billion bailout from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  And GE’s financial services subsidiary isn’t anything near approaching a bank.  There has been much chatter since then about the FDIC needing its own bailout, for instance, claiming it will “borrow” funds from healthy banks [New York Times "F.D.I.C. May Borrow Funds From Banks"]. What will really happen is that they will eventually come whining to Congress which will open up your checkbook to help them out. Think GE when this happens!

CBS News reported on March 30, 2011, “Liberals want G.E. CEO Jeff Immelt out of Obama administration,” saying:

Asked if the White House associates itself with G.E.’s corporate stewardship Wednesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said ‘membership on the Jobs Council, as the President made clear, is not decided by agreement on every issue.’  At his briefing yesterday, Carney said President Obama continues to have faith in Immelt to lead the council”

Yeah, how’s that Hope and Change working out for you guys now, eh?

These “cross directorships,” sometimes called “interlocking directorships” place these so-called “professional directors” in strategic board positions to insure that none of those dreaded “outsiders” ever get in.  Somehow, their definition of capitalism just doesn’t fit with the above definition.  And now, according to the Defense Procurement News of December 2, 2010, the “Obama Administration Wants Secret “Blacklist” for Pentagon Contractors, According to the American Small Business League.”

The Obama Administration has included language in the defense authorization bill that may allow senior Department of Defense (DoD) officials to secretly “blacklist” government contractors.

So much for minority-owned and small business defense contractors!  Rockefeller and Morgan would be proud!

So there you have it.  Crony capitalism.  The “ruling elite” using their money to buy influence whenever and wherever they see fit.  Its not Fascism; the government is not running anything, but we’re getting there.  Just ask all of those former owners of General Motors dealerships who happened to be Republicans!